Trust is the name of the game in the financial services industry. Unfortunately, trust is one part of the consumer-bank relationship that has been suffered over the past few years.
Of course, some of this is attributable to the Great Recession and the accompanying financial hardships. But many banks were already coping with the stigma of an opaque, unscrupulous industry. For most, thankfully, the issue of “trust” isn’t an issue of business practices, but of time.
Your employees simply don’t have the time to focus on trust-building with your clients. However, there are ways to change that.
Tech plus time equals trust
The customer relationship is one of the most important concerns for any financial institution. Building trust is the first step, and to maintain a trusting relationship, your bank must dedicate time and effort to the process.
Technology can be the answer. Your employees need the time to work directly with customers, and the right technology tools can free them up for the task. One of those tools is a cash recycler. With more automation comes more time, so your employees can focus on establishing a stronger connection with your customers.
Be prepared to educate
However, this technology isn’t without its cons; the main one being that your customers aren’t familiar with it. So while cash automation allows your tellers to build trust, the new process may be inherently confusing for your customers, at first.
To help your them transition, be sure your employees:
- Answer all questions surrounding the automated cash system
- Be proactive about customer concerns
- Comply with requests, such as manually counting bills
Take trust to the next level
In the past, building trust meant small talk, a friendly face and a handshake. However, this type of customer-banker relationship is much harder to achieve, in part because consumers are more skeptical of their financial institutions and of technology itself.
Digital tools have taken over banking, from the mobile device to the smart ATM. This means fewer customers are actually entering a bank branch, or if they do they are talking to an ATM and not to a person. For the bank itself, fewer customers means fewer opportunities to build trust in person. Even so, there are still ways to do so.
Use technology to your advantage
The answer is to take advantage of that technology. There are plenty of ways to build trust through tools. One, for example, is demonstrating security in online payments. Proactive customer service is another – you can send an email after each online transaction asking for feedback or complaints.
Trust is a two-pronged approach
All in all, trust is a two-pronged approach. It requires the staff, but your staff doesn’t have the time they need without the technology. Marrying smart tech with dedicated employees will allow you to emphasize trust moving forward, whether it involves building trust when implementing new technology or using technology itself to create that trust.
Best of all, gaining the trust of your customers has its benefits:
- Lower customer turnover rates
- Increased revenue potential
- Seamless banking process
- Better time management
By nurturing strong relationships with your financial institution, you’ll be on the fast track toward a more successful business.